FWIW, Susan, I have such huge admiration for your ability to stick things through and finish them -- you may not have sold them yet, but you've finished, what? two, three novels? I've spent the last couple of years feeling crushed to a fine powder by the demands of pregnancy and baby-rearing and job-hunting, and you've done all the same things and managed to carve out private time in which to give voice to the people in your head, make them live on the page.

Even if no publisher has given you money for them yet, even if it's just you and your writer's groups and your beta readers, that's still much more than I've managed. You made those stories, those characters real. You saw them, and you brought them out into the world and made other people see them. That's a huge achievement.

I just remembered that when I last donated blood, I got a coupon for a free ice cream scoop with one mix in at Coldstone! What should I get?

Not sure what I'd say my dream job is. I'm in a pretty sweet position as it is in terms of pay and schedule and boss, but I have no passion for it at all. I think I'd enjoy teaching, but I couldn't give up the pay I get now. The thought of teaching kids to read is really appealing to me, especially since I remember how wonderful that experience was. I could see having passion for that. I definitely have passion for the work I do with the juvenile hall kids. I also had passion for music when I was in the band (still love music), but I never liked the performing aspect of it. Just the writing, singing, and recording parts. I'd like to create a job in which I work jointly for Apple and Sanrio and pitch, design, and market ridiculously adorable products (pink Hello Kitty laptop! black Bad Badtz Maru iPod!).

My dream job would be to work in an immigration law related non-profit. And they'd have to let me work 20-30 hours a week.

you may not have sold them yet, but you've finished, what? two, three novels?

Three, and I'm on p. 175 of the manuscript of the fourth.

And thank you for reminding me that to be able to keep writing with everything else I've dealt with the past 4-5 years is an accomplishment in itself. Because I can always find someone who writes faster to compare myself to. Though I'm not sure I know anyone who writes faster AND has as many non-writerly responsibilities. A lot of days the only thing holding me together is sheer stubbornness. I'm not going to stop writing. I'm just not. The universe can't make me, no matter how much it tries.

You made those stories, those characters real. You saw them, and you brought them out into the world and made other people see them. That's a huge achievement.

Thanks for this, too. It's hard, it really is, to see other people pass me on the road to publication. I'm 100% thrilled for Allyson and Jilli and all my other friends who've sold in the almost 7 years I've been at this now, but there's still this little voice inside me saying, "What about me? When will it be my turn? I'm good, too, I really am." And then when something like this Cassie Edwards plagiarism scandal goes down...well, then I get a little angry at the universe.

Interesting op-ed piece about misogyny in America from the NYT: [link]

Just peeking in to say

Happy Birthday msbelle!!!

Happy, happy birthday to msbelle! With cupcakes and lots of happy.

I meeting-makered in a meeting with Grace. That's something I need to do more often during the day.

What does that mean?? All I can think of is "prepare to meet your maker"!!

George Pelecanos(apparently) spent his twenties getting high and selling appliances.(Sometimes at the very same moment.) This is my very favorite making of a best-seller ever.

And then he wrote about people doing exactly that! And could barely get published in the US for years.

I think one of my dream jobs would involve small kids. Shocking, no? But there have been several, and there will be several more, I'm sure. I don't hang too much on them except when I actually try to work towards them. Knowing has never been half my battle; acting has been 3/4.

It's been increasingly difficult to find the particular insulin and needles I use the past couple months. I don't know if there is a supply issue, or my timing is just wrong. Tonight, safeway manage to not have BOTH the insulin and needles. Sheesh.

I think my dream job would be teaching cats to use killer robots.